


Camp Echo Lake

by sundaze



Category: Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: M/M, Summer Camp AU, joshler - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-04-21 12:26:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4829096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sundaze/pseuds/sundaze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his mother ships him off to No Man's Land (Aka Echo Lake Summer Camp) for the summer, Tyler is forced to meet new friends, enemies, and a boy who Tyler thought was an enemy, but wants to be more than a friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 'Cause I Swear That This is Hell

**Author's Note:**

> there is a small violence TW in this chapter.
> 
> The chapter title is front As It Is's song "Can't Save Myself".
> 
> I hope you liked this. leave feedback and stuff for me to read :)

"Who knows," Tyler's mother calls from the front seat of her white Chevy Uplander. "Maybe you'll like it here and you'll never want to leave." 

Tyler slams the car trunk shut and throws the large red duffle bag over his shoulder. "Doubt it." Tyler says as he walks to his mother's door. He drops the bag off with the rest of the bags he brought. Tyler turns to face the pathway that leads down to a large lake with sail boats and canoes lined up besides a couple of docks. On the land, there was a row of faded blue cabins lined up side-by-side, each looking just like the last. Trees surrounded the area of the camp where Tyler would be spending his entire summer at. 

"Please give it a shot, Ty." His mom begs, reaching out and rubbing her sons underdeveloped biceps. Tyler pulls his arm from her reach and exhales loudly. 

His mom frowns and puts her hand back onto her black leather steering wheel. "I signed all the papers so you should be all set to go. Your counselor said to meet by the fire pit at 2:00."

Tyler nodded, not exactly listening to what his mother was saying as he was lost in his own thoughts of what he was going to do without cellphone service for the summer.

Tyler's mom sighed and started the car up again. "I'll see you in six weeks, Ty." With that, Tyler's mom pulled out of the dirt parking lot and left Tyler there all by himself. 

Tyler sighed and dragged his bags towards the camp. 

*

Stapled to a large brown wood cabin was a banner that read "Welcome to Camp Echo Lake" created with paints in different colors and different sizes in letters. Tyler sat on his stuff off to the side of the fire pit where all the other kids had gathered, waiting for the camp counselor to arrive and assign them cabins and cabin mates.

Tyler looked around at the group of kids he would be with for the next month and a half. One kid had a fedora placed perfectly on his golden brown hair that was nearly parted to the side. He had glasses placed in the bridge of his nose. His plain black shirt and skinny jeans hugged him a little tight around his waist and thighs but his face was soft and friendly.

Beside him was a girl with long, orange hair. Tyler wondered if her hair was naturally that orange as he moved his focus onto her nose ring and ring filled fingers. She wore black short-shorts, mismatched foam flip flops, and a tie dye tank top with opened sides that said 'Take Me Away' with an image of a UFO above the text. 

Next to the girl was another boy Tyler was intimidated by. He was kinda big. He couldn't be older than 15 since that's the oldest age the camp allows, but he looked to be about 16 or 17. His hair was held back by a red and black SnapBack hat worn backwards, but little tufts of purple mess poked out of the hole in the front of his head. The boy had a black shirt with the text "Legends Never Die". He wore black skinny jeans and a pair of black converse on his feet. The boy also had a nose ring. 'Maybe they got it done together,' Tyler thought. 'Friendship nose rings.'

Tyler mentally kicked himself for the dorky commentary going on in his head. The three teenagers had reminded Tyler of the popular crowd of tenth graders at Tyler's high school. He chewed on his lip as he contemplated going to sit with the trio, but decided against it when he saw someone walking towards him.

This boy had dark, dyed black hair. He was on the shorter side and supported a black hoodie with gold decals over a plain red shirt and black skinny jeans, tighter than anyone else's pants here. The kid sat next to Tyler in the grass and handed him a name tag with a sticky back.

Tyler took it confused and looked at the boy who had taken a seat besides him. The boy shoved a marker in Tyler's face. "Write your name. You need a name tag."

Tyler nodded and lazily wrote his five lettered name across the open white space. The boy cocked his head at an uncomfortable looking angle as he tried to make out what the siting had said.

"Tyler." The boy announced after he finally fought his way through. Tyler's hand writing could improve a little bit. Maybe that's what he'll work on over the summer.

Tyler nodded and looked at the boy's jacket and read his name tag. 'Pete'.

Pete pulled his own jacket out a little bit to read his name tag. "Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III. It's a family name." He stated, looking back at Tyler. 

Tyler nodded and looked at his fingers as they fidgeted with each other. "Is this your first year here?" Pete asked, sliding a little closer to Tyler.

"Yeah." Tyler replied, trying to avoid eye contact with the other boy. "My mom said it'd be good for me to spend a year outside of the house doing other things besides playing video games with my brother."

Pete laughed out loud at that, although Tyler didn't think it was all that funny. He didn't mean it to be. "That's why my mom sent me here two years ago. She didn't want me to 'waste my childhood years away in front of a television screen'."

Tyler nodded, unsure of how to answer Pete. God, he was so bad at making friends. 

Tyler looked over towards the group of three kids who he was staring at earlier. They all seemed to be comfortable with each other as the tye dye tank top girl pushed purple haired boy playfully as they laughed at something Tyler didn't hear. He noticed that fedora boy was staring at Tyler. Once they made eye contact, fedora boy looked away quickly, turning to his friends behind him and pointing in Tyler's direction. The girl and boy stopped laughing and looked over at Tyler. They gave him a dirty glare. What had he done? Tyler has been here for twenty minutes and he's already made enemies.

Eventually a tall man in a white muscle shirt and beige cargo shorts grasping a clipboard stood in front of the big fire pit. His hair was styled in a way that Tyler had never seen before and seemed to defy all laws of gravity. Glasses were placed on his face perfectly in front of his eyes. The man was tall and lanky as Tyler watched him try to calm the children down so he could speak. His name tag read 'Brendon'.

"Welcome for some," Brendon spoke once the kids were all quiet. "And for others, welcome back. As you may or may not know, my name is Brendon. Every staff member here at Camp Echo Lake are all very excited for the beginning of a great summer together and we hope that you are all too."

Tyler refrained from rolling his eyes as the rest of the group clapped. "Before we start some ground rules, I see a lot of new faces so we're going to start with an ice breaker game."

Tyler bit his lip and grabbed tightly onto his wrist. He hates these games. He hates talking to be and stating a "strange talent" he has or "something he hopes to learn".

"First, we'll go around saying our names one by one and then I'll explain the game."

Brendon pointed to Pete, who said his name, followed by Tyler, Ryan, Hayley, Gerard, Macy, Jenna, and some other names Tyler didn't bother to remember until it gets to the group of three Tyler was yearning after earlier. Patrick, fedora guy, Debby, tye dye tank top girl, and Josh, purple haired boy. 

"Perfect!" Brendon exclaimed. Brendon picks up a red kick ball that was by his feet. "This game is called time bomb. How this works is I am going to call out someone's name for them to catch it. Once they catch it, they yell out someone's name and throw it to that person. You have two seconds to call out someone's name and to throw it or you have to share a fact about yourself, and I know we don't wanna do that." 

Tyler closed his eyes shut tightly, dreading the possibility of sharing a fact about himself. He wasn't interesting. No one wanted to know anything about him. Tyler hoped, in all honesty, that no one would bother even remembering his name this summer.

The game started with Brendon calling out "Willow" and throwing it somewhere in the middle of the crowd of kids. Tyler watched as the boy went around the group of kids, hoping that he would go by unnoticed and not get the ball thrown to him. 

The ball made its way to Patrick, who threw it to Debby, who threw it to Josh. Josh looked around the group quick, said someone's name and pegged it at Tyler. 

*

Tyler woke up to a bright light above him that hurt to look at. He turned his head quickly from the light and tried to open his eyes again. He had a pounding migraine and it hurt to twist his neck. He let out a small whine as the pain set in. Where was he? 

Once Tyler opened his eyes fully, he sat up and looked around the room. There were hundreds of little first aid kits lined up against the wall on a counter top that looked to be from the eighties. A chair besides the door looked sad and old, the foam is being ripped from inside it and the legs looked like it would cave in if someone were to sit on it. A poster of a teddy bear with a bandage and a thermometer in its hand was all alone, stuck to the wall. 

A woman in a white jacket came in and smiled at Tyler. "Hello, Tyler."

Tyler nodded and gripped the sides of the uncomfortable bed he was sat upon. "I'm nurse Jackie. How do you feel?" The woman asked, putting her hands to Tyler's head.

"I have a headache and my neck is sore." Tyler mumbled, wishing the woman would stop touching him. He knew it was her job, but that doesn't mean he had to like it. 

The woman smiled and nodded. "You were hit pretty hard."

That's when Tyler remembered. Josh had chucked the rubber red ball at him as they played the ice breaker game. Tyler turned his head towards a mirror on the wall. His cheekbone and eye were swollen with a new forming bruise under his eye. 

"Well, I think that you are alright." Nurse Jackie said, walking over to a drawer attached to the cabinet. She pulled out a small bottle of pills and handed it to Tyler. 'Acetaminophen' the label read in white letters. "Take these if your migraine gets worse or your neck. If it doesn't help, come back and see me, alright?"

Tyler nodded a little and took an ice pack wrapped in a towel Nurse Jackie gave him. Tyler scurried out of the small office and looked around. Everyone was gone besides a few kids who were hanging around the lake and the sun was setting.

It was the first day and Tyler already had three enemies and been to the infirmary once. Maybe it's an omen of bad luck for the on coming summer Tyler was about to experience.


	2. Settled Your Score

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Like, blackmail?"
> 
> Pete nodded his head, his smile on the verge of breaking his face.

Tyler had met up with another counselor who showed him around the camp. There was a big lake that was private to the camp area so it was very calm and quiet. The fire pit was where most of the campers hung out, but they would also walk along the beach and sit at a large rock that is right along the water that is a little secluded and sectioned off by a couple of trees to make it a little more private. 

Tyler followed the counselor, who's name was William, into the big brown log house, which is the cafeteria. 

"You can find your cabin name along that back wall over there." William points towards the back wall where there is a mob of people crowded along the wall. There were four pieces of paper stuck to the wall with, what Tyler assumed, were the names of the people assigned to the cabin. Tyler sucked in a deep breath when he saw Debby, Patrick and Josh surrounding one if the papers.

"If you need anything, I'll be over there." William gestured towards the other side of the cafeteria where five other people dressed in the same light blue polo shirt stood around. Tyler nodded and watched as William made his way to the other counsellors.

Tyler walked toward the sheets of paper on the wall. As he got closer, he saw that Josh and Debby were angrily flailing their arms at Brendon. 

"We've been in the same cabin for the last five years, why is this year any different?" Tyler heard Debby almost scream, her hands balled into fists by her side.

"It's a new camp rule, guys. Once you get to be 13 you can't sleep in the same cabin as a girl." Brendon retorted.

"That's such crap," Josh yelled. "Brendon, do you really think we'll be having sex with each other?"

"No, Josh. But I don't make the rules."

Tyler blocked them out and looked for his name in the sheet. He had checked two of the four papers before he found his name typed neatly out under the cabin name "Sycamore Cottage". There were three other names on the list below Tyler's name: Ryan R., Mikey W., and Josh D.. 

'Fuck' Tyler thought as his eyes were glued to the name at the bottom of the list. Tyler couldn't bunk with Josh. He hasn't even known the kid for twelve hours and he already has given him a minor concussion. Sleeping in the same cabin as him gave him a million times to torture him a million different ways for a six week span. 

"Hey, Tyler." Brendon said, coming up behind Tyler and resting a hand on his shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

Tyler looked at Brendon and shook his head. "I can't sleep with him."

"What?" Brendon asked, stepping away from Tyler a little and giving him a skeptical look. "You can't sleep with who?"

"Him, Josh." Tyler replied, pointing at the name right below Mikey W.

"Why not?"

"He hates me."

Brendon scoffed and chuckled at this. "Is this because he nailed you in the face earlier?"

"It's more than that though. They- Josh, Debby and Patrick were staring at me and teasing me before you started."

"I don't think so, Tyler. I've known those kids since before I became a counselor. They wouldn't hurt a fly."

Tyler bit his lip and looked down. Maybe he was just overthinking it. He was so used to people not wanting to be his friend and just harass him, maybe he was just going to the worst possible conclusions. Tyler nodded and looked at a beaming Brendon again. "Here, let's get you to your cabin." Brendon said, escorting Tyler towards the doors of the cafeteria.

* 

The cabin was small and poorly lit, only one single lightbulb hung from the ceiling, all other light filtering into the room was natural sunlight. There were two bunk beds and two bureaus and no bathroom. The floor was slowly rotting, dark wood and the walls were a chipping blue-gray color. 

One whole bunk bed set against the wall was already taken and the top bed of the other against the windows was taken as well. Tyler didn't mind though, he is a restless sleeper, prone to falling off the bed anyway. 

He opened the draw of the bureau closest to his bunk bed and saw that it was already occupied with someone's boxers. Tyler quickly slammed the draw shut and looked for the empty draws. Eventually he found it, put his earbuds in, and started putting his clothes away.

As he listened to Grouplove's "Ways to Go", his mind began wondering what this summer would be like. Would it be just like any other summer, or would it be one he'd never forget? Would he learn how to fish or build a fire without a lighter or matches? Maybe he would make some friends, real friends, and they'd all go for a day hike around the lake. Maybe he'd meet a girl and they'd fall in love and they'd stay out past curfew by the lake and sneak into each other's cabins. That Jenna girl he was sitting by at the fire pit earlier was pretty cute. 

Suddenly, Tyler felt all the negative energy and vibes he had about this summer leave his body. He was now very excited that his mother had shipped him off here. This gave him so many opportunities and chances to maybe make his boring life a little less boring. This wasn't going to be a bad summer; Tyler was gonna make this the best summer of his life. 

Tyler actually believed himself for a moment, until his ear bud was ripped out of his ear and someone was singing along to the song, loudly and poorly, right into Tyler's ear.

Tyler covered his ear and fell backwards onto his ass. Covering his ear, Tyler looked up to see who had done this. Pete stood there with a smug little grin on his face as he chuckled. "Sorry dude. I didn't mean to scare the shit out if you."

"How did you not mean to scare me?" Tyler spat as he stood to his feet and removed the other earbud. "You pulled my earbud out of my ear and started singing pretty damn loud into my ear."

Pete shrugged. "You're a pretty good singer, by the way."

"Yeah?" Tyler replied lazily, looking into the mirror above the bureau and fixing his hair. His black eye was getting worse. He would have to hold onto the idea of getting close with Jenna until after this thing went away.

Tyler saw Pete nod out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah. The camp has a talent show like the third week in. You should enter."

Tyler shook his head and looked back at Pete. "I don't think so."

Pete shrugged his shoulders again. "The fire is starting soon. You're coming, right?"

"I was actually just gonna go to sleep. I have a head ache and-"

"No!" Pete exclaimed, grabbing Tyler's hand in both of his own. "Please please come. I don't wanna go alone."

"Don't you have other friends you could go with?"

Pete shook his head. "Well, if you count the people who bully you for six weeks of your summer your friends, then yeah. I have about three."

"What?" Tyler yanked his hand from Pete's grasp. "Who bullies you?"

Pete opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again and shook his head. "Come on Pete, tell me."

"I can't. They'll start being mean to you and they'll be meaner to me because I ratted on them."

"Pete, come on-"

"Snitches get stitches,"

"Pete-"

"and talkers get walkers."

"Pete!" Tyler yelled, holding Pete's face in his hands to hopefully shut Pete up for a couple of seconds. "I promise, if you tell me, I won't tell anyone."

Pete hesitated and sighed, his cheeks looking funny as they inflating and deflating from Tyler's hands being pressed to them. "I can't tell you, Ty."

Tyler frowned and let Pete go. "Whatever. I'll go. Maybe I'll find Josh, Debby and Patrick and give them a piece of my mind." Tyler knew he wouldn't do that. 

"Wait, why?" Pete asked, looking up to Tyler, his eyebrows furrowing together.

"Josh threw that stupid ball at my face this afternoon and they were all pointing and laughing at me."

Pete's face suddenly went red and he looked at the floor. "Oh..." Pete's voice trailed off. 

"What?" 

Pete looked up again and his face grew redder. "Oh, uh. Nothing? Let's go before you change your mind." Pete started pulling Tyler to the door. 

"No, no. Tell me." Tyler pulled his arm from Pete's grasp again and he stopped in his tracks.

Pete sighed and looked at Tyler. "He wasn't throwing the ball at you." 

Tyler was confused and his face showed it. "If he was t throwing it at me, who was he throwing it at-" That's when Tyler remembered he was sitting besides Pete during the ice breaker game and before when they were 'laughing at Tyler'. They weren't teasing Tyler, they were bullying Pete. 

Tyler's face softened. "Oh, shit Pete."

Pete waved his hands and closed his eyes. "No, no. It's no big deal, dude. I've been dealing with it for two years. I don't really care anymore. Nothing new."

"You shouldn't have to deal with that. I'm gonna go tell Brendon." Tyler headed towards the door.

"No no no, no you're not." Pete raced to the door and blocked Tyler's way.

"We have to tell someone."

Pete shook his head. "Please don't tell anyone, Tyler. They will come after me if they get in trouble."

"No they won't. Brendon will put a stop to it."

"No he won't. I tried that already. They're his little angels who wouldn't hurt a fly." Tyler pursed his lips as Pete quoted Brendon word for word when Tyler had asked to change cabins from Josh. "He's known them forever and they're really close and there isn't anything he wouldn't do for them. He won't believe you, me or anyone else unless Josh, Debby and or Patrick went to Brendon personally and said 'We have been bullying Pete Wentz for the last two years'."

Tyler sighed and threw his arms up a little and let them crash back to his sides. "Well, what are we gonna do then? We can't just let them keep picking on you."

Pete smiled slyly and took a step towards Tyler. "You could protect me."

Tyler's mouth hung slack as he used hand gestures to look for words to reply with. "M-me?" Pete nodded excessively. "I don't know Pete. Do you really want a guy who plays ukulele and got a black eye on their first day of summer camp as your knight in shining armor?"

"Anything helps."

Tyler sighed. "How would I protect you?"

"Find some dirty shit on one of them and if they try to hurt me be like 'yo, I know this about you and if you hurt Pete, I won't hesitate to tell the whole camp'."

"Like, blackmail?"

Pete nodded his head, his smile on the verge of breaking his face.

Tyler bit his lip and thought. He really wasn't planning on making enemies this summer. As of right now, since Josh wasn't out to get Tyler, he was in the clear. There was still a lot of summer left and he wasn't sure if he wanted to spend it playing baby sitter. No, he was positive he didn't want to play baby sitter.

However, the kindness in Tyler's heart took over and he nodded his head. Pete let out a little squeak and hugged Tyler around the neck tightly. 

"I owe you one." Pete hummed in Tyler's ear as he tightened his grip on Tyler.

Tyler giggled a little and wrapped his arms around Pete. "I'll remember that, Wentz."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise that this isn't Pete/Tyler fic. It's joshler. Eventually.
> 
> Chapter title from "Rat a Tat" by Fall Out Boy. 
> 
> Leave me feedback and all that stuff I love. Thank you for reading!!


	3. Walk Away from Me, It's Called Irony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "No he didn't." Pete protested over breakfast the next morning.
> 
> "I swear he did, Pete." Tyler was talking to Pete about the events of the previous night. That morning, when Tyler woke up, he had swore that he had dreamed the whole thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter title is from New Politics' "Stuck on You".

Tyler sat uncomfortably on the tree stump with his ukulele in his hands surrounded by a group of people including Pete, Jenna, Hayley, Brendon and a couple other people who's names he couldn't remember. He kept his eyes focused on the fret board of his guitar, trying not to make his nervousness obvious. 

He doesn't remember exactly how he had gotten himself into this situation. He had been sitting around the bonfire talking to Hayley and Jenna about music when he had mentioned that he has been playing the ukulele for 5 years, since he was 10. They asked if he had the instrument with him and they demanded to hear him play something when he had answered 'yes'.

Now, he sat in front of a group of about eight kids and two counselors as he started playing the chords to "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley. He kept his eyes focused on the ground as he moved his finger up and down the neck of the guitar, praying he didn't mess up, as his other hand strummed the string. 

"Sing!" Tyler heard a voice yell out. He looked up and saw Pete sitting right in front of him with a huge smile plastered along his face. Tyler shook his head as he tripped over his fingers and stopped playing momentarily. 

"Please." Pete begged, his bottom lip protruding and his eyes grew big. But Tyler persisted and shook his head, trying to find where he had left off.

Suddenly, the group started chanting "sing! sing! sing! sing!" Tyler felt his heart rate speed up and he looked towards the forest bordering the fire pit. He saw Josh, Debby and Patrick leaning against the trees, watching Tyler as he struggled to compose himself. Tyler's eyes met Josh's and they kept eye contact for a while until Tyler started from the beginning of the song.

"Wise men say," Tyler pulled his gaze from Josh and looked at his fingers. "Only fools rush in. But I, can't, help... falling in love, with, you." 

By the end of the song, everyone was singing and smiling. Even, to his own surprise, Tyler was comfortable singing along with the other campers. They all wrapped up the song in unison an clapped when it was over. 

After, the counselors told everyone that it was curfew and escorted the kids to their assigned cabins. As Tyler made his way to the cabin, he got a few compliments on his singing, which he replied with a shy 'thank you' and a smile.

*

Tyler stripped his shirt from his body once he was secure inside the four cabin walls. He knew the other boys he shared a cabin with were fast asleep, so he wasn't afraid of getting ready for bed out in the open. Tyler leaned in close to the mirror and pressed the growing bruise under his eye. He had almost forgotten about the injury until he had saw his reflection in the mirror. He winced from the pressure. 

"Oh, nice one." a voice said from behind Tyler. Tyler quickly whipped around and stared at a dark shadow lurking by the door. As the shadow walked closer, Tyler could see a mess of untamed purple hair. "Sorry about that, by the way." Josh spoke once he was about three feet away from Tyler.

"You scared the shit out of me." Tyler angrily whispered, scrambling for a shirt to throw over his exposed torso. 

Josh laughed a little and shook his head. "Chill out. I've seen other people's chests before, you know." 

Tyler sighed and finished pulling the tank top over his head. "What do you want?" Tyler spat, coming out a little meaner than he meant. 

"I wanted to say sorry about earlier with the ice breaker game and the ball and the..." Josh gestured to Tyler's black-and-blueing eye. "That." 

Tyler half shrugged and walked towards his bunk. Josh put his hand against the metal frame of the bed, blocking Tyler's path to slumber. "I didn't mean it."

Tyler shook his head. "I know. It's fine." Tyler felt Josh's eyes lingering on his person for a long while. Josh removed his arm and slid in between Tyler and the bunk bed. Tyler and Josh were chest to chest with one another. 

"I saw you jamming out by the fire earlier."

"Yeah, I saw you."

"You're talented."

Tyler shrugged and kept his eyes focused on the opposite side of the room, making sure he didn't even look at any part of Josh. 

"Don't be modest, Joseph." Josh whispered. "You're really, really talented." Josh slid his hands onto Tyler's waist and gently squeezed.

Tyler's eyes grew about two sizes before he wiggled his way out of Josh's grasp and maneuvered around him, and slipped into bed. Tyler faced the wall until he heard Josh settle into his own bunk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is such a short chapter! I feel like where I left it off here was a better spot than where I would have left if I had continued writing. the next chapters will be longer, I promise.
> 
> thank you for reading!! Leave comments and feedback and all that stuff I love!


	4. Fake You Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Isn't that, like, immoral? Against the law of the gay ways?"
> 
> Pete scoffed and rolled his eyes. "That's such a straight thing to say."

"No he didn't." Pete protested over breakfast the next morning.

"I swear he did, Pete." Tyler was talking to Pete about the events of the previous night. That morning, when Tyler woke up, he had swore that he had dreamed the whole thing. There was no way Josh had tried to make a move on Tyler. Why would he do that? It didn't make any sense to him.

Pete shook his head and took a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "That's impossible. He's not gay."

"Then how do you explain him whispering how talented I am and him grasping my waist and telling me to not worry about putting a shirt on."

Pete pointed his soon at Tyler. "You're lying to me."

"I am not lying to you, Pete." Tyler answered defensively. "I know what I saw and I am telling you 100% the truth. How do you know he's not gay?"

"Because he's been fucking Debby for the last two years." Pete growled, leaning closer to Tyler across the table.

"People have a change in heart-"

"He's been bullying me for the last two years about me being gay! He calls me 'fag' all the time, he probably doesn't even know my goddamn name!" Pete yelled, slamming his hands down onto the table. Milk and cheerios sloshed over the side. Tyler felt eyes staring into the back of his neck. Tyler scanned the room quickly, to make sure Josh or his group weren't in ear shot. They weren't.

"Pete, believe me when I tell you what happened." Tyler spoke calmly, wishing for the eyes to stop watching Tyler and Pete. 

Pete sighed and pushed black hairs out of his eyes. "Fine. Whatever. Why you though?"

Tyler shrugged and looked down at his plate of untouched breakfast pastries. Food was the last thing he wanted to think about. 

"Well, you better find out why."

"What?" Tyler shit his eyes up to meet Pete's. 

Pete sat across the table, arms crossed at his chest and a smug look on his face. "Get with him."

Tyler's mouth hung open as he shook his head slightly. "I-I can't do that Pete."

"Why not?"

"I'm not gay."

Pete shrugged. "Fake it."

"Isn't that, like, immoral? Against the law of the gay ways?"

Pete scoffed and rolled his eyes. "That's such a straight thing to say."

"Pete, I can't do it. I'm a terrible liar and, like, what if he catches me? What if we're caught in our web of lies and deception?"

"We have nothing to lose, Joseph." Pete answered, leaning across the table. "We're already at the bottom of the food chain. You're the new kid, and I'm the gay kid. What could we possibly endanger if we go through with this?"

Tyler opened his mouth to respond, but he really didn't have a valid argument. Tyler thought about the possibilities of what could go wrong- there were a lot- and how deep a hole he was going to throw himself into for doing this. 

Reluctantly, Tyler nodded his head in agreement. Pete squealed and beamed at Tyler. "This is going to be the dirtiest secret to reveal to the camp in the history of Camp Echo Lake."

*

Tyler laid on his back after breakfast and stared at the bunk above his. He was attempting to take in what Pete had tried to explain to him.

The plan between the two boys was for Josh and Tyler to start flirting a lot and if Josh continued bullying Pete, reveal the whole scheme and then threaten to out Josh if they keep bullying Pete. 

Tyler knew it was wrong to out people, so he continuously worried about that last part because, no matter what the person has done, he wouldn't be able to find the heart to out someone as gay. He also worried about Josh finding out about the plan and that Tyler wasn't really gay and he worried about what would happen to Pete if they didn't stop bullying him after Tyler outed Josh, because there was no way Debby and Patrick and Josh would stop bullying him after that. 

Tyler's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the squeaking of the cabin door. Tyler looked to the door and saw a shirtless, wet haired and chested Josh standing there with a towel in his arms. Tyler tried to keep his eyes focused off of his chest, which was a lot more built than any other 15 year old Tyler has ever seen.

"Hey," Josh smiled, rubbing the towel over his head, drying his hair off. 

"Hi." Tyler replied meekly, standing up from the bed. "Sorry about last night, by the way. I just, wasn't expecting that." 

Josh shrugged and looked at the ground. "I guess it was kind of wrong of me to force myself upon you like that. I was a little tipsy."

"Tipsy? How did you get alcohol in here?"

"They have a whole ton stored away in the kitchen. It's not guarded after 10:00 so it's fairly easy to sneak in and grab a couple bottles."

"Oh." Tyler answered, mentally kicking himself for such a dumb response.

Josh nodded and walked over to his draw and began pulling out clothes. "Sorry again. About your eye. That was an accident and it wasn't meant for you."

"Nah," Tyler waved his hand, brushing the topic off. "It's fine. Not my first black eye."

"Oh really?" Josh questioned, pulling a muscle shirt over his head. "What was your first black eye?"

Tyler panicked as his lie about this not being his first black eye came apart. It was his first black eye. How do people even get black eyes? Fighting? Sports?

"I-I fell up the stairs at school." Tyler lied, his voice quavering.

"Up?" Josh questioned, raising his eyebrows. 

Tyler barely nodded. What kind of a lame excuse was that?

Josh laughed and shook his head. "I'm Josh, by the way."

"Yeah, I know." Tyler replied, still trying to recover from his foolish lie.

"What's your name?" Josh asked, turning to face Tyler.

"Oh, uh, Tyler." 

Josh giggled. Tyler had to admit, he had a pretty cute giggle. "Well, uh Tyler, you should hang out with me and my friends by the rock tonight. There will be alcohol and it'll be fun."

"Oh, yeah. Sure." Tyler smiled. His stomach turned at the thought of alcohol. "I love that alcohol stuff. Can't get enough of that crap." 

Josh giggled again and waved to Tyler as he left the cabin. Once he was gone, Tyler flopped back into his bed and screamed into his pillow. Why was he such a walking embarrassment?


	5. Take a Breath and Calm Down

It was about 9 o'clock when he headed over to the big rock where he was going to meet up with Josh and his friends. Since he was invited that morning, Josh's stomach has been twisted in knots. He felt like he may vomit at any second all day, he felt his muscles tense whenever he saw Debby or Josh or Patrick around, and he felt an odd feeling in his gut whenever Josh smiled at him. He pushed that thought to the back of his brain. 

He saw a dim light coming from a lantern right by the rock. Tyler safely assumed it was them as he picked up his pace a little bit. Josh never really gave Tyler a specific time to get there, he just said they would be there tonight. Tyler thought 9:00 pm would be a good time to head over there. To get over to the rock, Tyler had to sneak past counselors and other kids because they weren't supposed to be at the rock after dusk since it was so deep in the woods. Tyler successfully made it by everyone and now he could hear laughter of his peers.

"Hey!" Josh exclaimed once Tyler emerged from the dense forest. He got to his feet and went over to Tyler. Josh wore a muscle shirt with open sides so there was a nice view of his abs when he moved a certain way. Tyler tried not to stare. "I was scared you weren't gonna show."

Tyler shook his head. "I just wasn't sure what qualifies as 'tonight'."

Josh smiled more. "That's fine. I'm just glad you're here now." Tyler didn't get how this guy could be Pete's bully. He seems like the sweetest guy on the planet. "Let me introduce you to my friends. This is Debby."

Debby waved to Tyler as she leaned against the rock. Her hair was up into a high ponytail and held back with a ribbon tied in a bow. She had a nirvana shirt tucked into black shorts. The sleeves on the shirt were rolled into a muscle shirt and the collar of the neck cut off, revealing a black chocked with some sort of pendant on it. 

"And that's Patrick." Josh pointed to the boy sitting on the ground next to the lantern. His glasses were gone but he had on jeans and a striped sweater, but his hat remained in place on his head.

"You're sure I'm not intruding or anything?" Tyler asked as he followed Josh towards the rock. 

Debby shook her head and smiled sweetly at Tyler. "Not at all. The more the merrier is what I say."

Tyler nodded and looked down at his hands. Josh went over to behind the rock and brought out three six pack of alcohol and a paper bag of something. Tyler's settling stomachache quickly came back with a vengeance.

Debby smiled as she took one of the bottles from the alcohol pack before Josh could even put it into the ground for everyone to grab. The bottle was a clear glass one and the liquid inside was pink. Tyler didn't have enough time to read the label on Debby's drink before she threw her head back and let the alcohol pour down her throat. She was like some kind of pro alcohol drinker.

Once Josh had the packs down, Tyler saw the bottle Debby grabbed was from a box labeled "Jamaican Me Happy". It was watermelon, guava and strawberries flavored. The other two were regular beer packs. And, of course, that is what Josh handed to Tyler: a normal, bitter tasting beer. Tyler low key wanted to ask Josh for the one Debby had, but he didn't wanna be so transparent in his lack of drinking experience. He also didn't want to be the only guy there drinking the flavored alcohol. 

'Come on, Tyler.' Tyler tried to give himself a pep talk. 'Don't look like a pussy. You have to blend in with these people so you can get them to stop bullying Pete.' Tyler unscrewed the bottle and started wondering how Pete not getting bullied became his problem. 

Tyler nervously smiled and took a bigger sip than he was planning. The liquid all rushed out of the bottle and down into Tyler mouth to the point he couldn't swallow it fast enough so it all stayed in his cheeks until his mouth overflowed with beer. The alcohol dropped down his chin onto his neck and down his chest. Tyler felt his face heating up quickly as the group of kids he sat with laughed hysterically. 

"First time?" Patrick asked once they had caught their breaths.

"No." Tyler spat, wiping his mouth clear of the spilled drink. Tyler looked over to Josh, who was still smiling lightly and sipping from his bottle. 

"I think it is." Debby teased, giggling and already reaching for a second one.

Tyler tried to keep his face from getting redder but it was pretty much useless at this point. He rubbed his face with his sticky palms and looked down, embarrassed.

"Don't worry, Ty." Josh said gently. Tyler's stomach did flips at the nickname. "Everyone has their first time at one point or another."

"The first time I drank," Debby jumped in, bringing the topic back to her. Tyler got the vibe she was a little bit of a narcissist. "I got so shit faced and I don't remember anything about it. The last thing I remember about it was going into someone's room with some guy and then waking up on someone's pool float in a pool the next morning. I don't even remember what the guy looked like."

"How old were you?" Tyler asked, curiosity taking over.

"14." Debby answered, cracking up her second drink and swigging from it. "I've toned it down a bit since then."

"Barely." Patrick joked under his breath, receiving a hard smack across his arm from his female friend. Patrick just giggled and pushed her gently. 

"But really, don't worry about it." Josh said, bringing the conversation back to the main topic. "It's an acquired taste."

Tyler nodded and studied the bottle. 154 calories in 12 fluid ounce one bottle. Tyler cringed at all the empty calories he was consuming. He tried to ignore that as he took a sip, a real sip.

The alcohol burned it's way down his throat. It was an unpleasant feeling, but the second sip wasn't as bad as the first. The third was better than the second, the fourth better than the third, and eventually, before he knew it, he was all done with the bottle. 

Tyler saw Josh watching him, smiling, out of the corner of his eyes. Tyler looked over at Josh to make eye contact, but Josh looked away fm before Tyler could achieve contact. 

"This summer is going to suck." Debby chirped, turning to look out over the lake. The moon was full and glistening down onto the water. The reflection of the moon rippled in the slightly moving water.

"I don't think so." Josh added, reaching for another drink. 

"It will. We're the oldest kids in this age group and the only ones who have been here the longest. We're the most responsible and mature but we still need to go by these dumb childish rules." Debby sighed, rocking a small rock toward Tyler. 

"It's kind of ironic how you say we're the most responsible yet we're all sitting in a restricted area after dusk while drinking underage." Tyler added, grinning slightly ad sipping from the bottle.

Debby flipped Tyler off and stuck her tongue out at him. Tyler giggled and burped a little bit, which sent the group into more giggles.

"We may be the oldest," Josh continued. "But this is our last year. We need to make this the best summer we've had at this camp." 

"I kind of agree with Josh." Patrick said, pointing his index finger towards Josh. "We're like never gonna see each other anymore after this summer. We need to make it memorable."

Tyler began thinking about what his summer might consist of. Hopefully he'd make some friends. Maybe have a couple drunken nights out by the lake. Maybe he'd kiss some girls. So many things could happen, the possibilities seemed endless. Tyler just hoped he could get to the bottom of this Pete situation fast and solve it so he could have some summer to himself instead of playing knight. 

"Tyler, I saw you were chatting with that Pete kid yesterday." Patrick announced.

Tyler stomach tightened by the mention of Pete's name. He almost forgot that he is the reason he was sitting here right now. "Oh, yeah. He seems pretty cool."

Debby scoffed and rolled her eyes. "If you like fags." She mumbled under her breath. 

"What do you mean?" Tyler played dumb, acting like he didn't know they called him that name. 

"He's gay." Patrick informed Tyler. 

"Oh. So?" Tyler said looking around the circle. Josh remained quiet. 

Debby suppressed a laugh. "Why would anyone want to be gay? That's not normal."

Patrick whispered something to Debby and the two bursted out laughing as Josh and Tyler sat there quietly. Tyler felt a familiar bubbling feeling at the top of his throat and in his mouth he tasted metal. He knew what was happening.

Tyler quickly sprain up from his feet and ran into the woods. He began puking about twenty feet from where the group sat. He heard the sound of leaves crunching behind him. The person placed a hand on Tyler's arched back and slowly rubbed it. 

"You alright?" Josh whispered, still gently rubbing the boys back.

Tyler nodded and stood up straight. "I'm fine." Tyler spit out whatever was in his mouth and looked at Josh. His eyes were big and filled with concern. His brow furrowed. "I think I'm gonna head back to the cabin." Tyler said weakly.

"I'll walk you back." Josh offered. 

Tyler hesitated but nodding slowly. "Alright."

They walked back to the other two in silence and explained the situation. Debby and Patrick said goodbye to Tyler and invited him back another night. 

Once Tyler and Josh were a ways away from the two others, Tyler looked at Josh. "Sorry for ruining your night." Tyler apologized, watching his still shaking hands closely.

Josh shook his head. "You didn't. I wanted to get out of there anyway."

"Why?" Tyler turned his head to look at the boy by his side. Josh puckered his lips as he thought for a second.

"They started making fun of that kid." Josh admitted after a moment of silence.

"Who? Pete?"

Josh nodded. "Yeah, him. They're always bullying him about his sexuality. When they first started doing it, I tried to make them stop because it's not something to make fun."

"Why'd you stop?"

"Because then they started questioning my sexuality."

"Because you were defending someone else?"

Josh nodded and sighed. "I got scared and I didn't wanna lose my friends so I just started going along with whatever they did." 

"That really sucks." Tyler admitted. 

"It does. I just wish I could knock some sense into them. I wish I could make them see that there is nothing wrong with wing gay."

"Are you gay?" Tyler quickly asked, regretting it the moment it came out. "Sorry," Tyler said, covering his face with his hands. They still smelled of beer. "you're not supposed to ask those things."

Josh laughed out loud at that. He shook his head and waved his hand at Tyler. "I don't mind, really." Josh reassured. "I don't really know what I am. I've been trying out a couple that I feel relate to me. Recently I've been learning more about panromantic relationships and I think I might identify with that the most."

"What is that?" Tyler inquired.

"Panromantic? It's when you have romantic feelings for anyone despite their gender."

"I've never heard of that."

"There's probably a lot of sexualities and romantic orientations you haven't heard of." Josh explained. Tyler could feel how interested Josh was in this. "Asexual or aromantic, demisexual or demiromantic, gray-asexual or gray-romantic-"

"I haven't heard of a single one of those." Tyler could see the lights from the cabins coming closer and closer. Tyler looked up at Josh quietly. "Maybe you could teach me sometime?"

Josh smiled and nodded. "I'm not busy tomorrow night."

Tyler felt his cheeks warm up a little bit. "Okay. I'm not either."

Josh's smile grew. They stopped in front of their cabin "We'll meet here tomorrow at 8:00?"

Tyler nodded eagerly and tried to contain his smile. Josh smiled more as well and waved to Tyler before awkwardly sauntering off, looking over his shoulder every couple of steps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from "Dreaming" by Smallpools.
> 
> This chapter is kind bad but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ it will get better I promise.
> 
> thanks for reading :):)


	6. I'm Still Learning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: SLURS

"He's a fucking liar." Pete announces as Tyler sits on the bed opposite of Pete's. Pete's cabin seemed to be a lot bigger than his own since it was only a two person cabin. "He isn't just going along with what Debby and Patrick are doing. He never tried to stop it. He's just telling you that shit so you won't run away from him and come crawling to me, the camp fag."

"He's not lying, Pete." Tyler says, using hand gestures excessively.

"Tyler, you have been here for three days. You haven't seen how he has treated me for the past three years. Him and his squad have tortured me and made me fear the summers." Pete rubs his face, sighing loudly. 

"Just give him a chance, Pete. Maybe something snapped inside him and made him realize that he hasn't been the nicest guy to you the last few years."

"I doubt it." Pete says simply, reaching in between his bed frame and the mattress, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. Tyler's muscles tightened. He feared Pete would offer a cigarette to Tyler and he'd have to either accept it and become a coughing mess in front of Pete or look like a loser like he did last night at the rock with Josh, Debby and Patrick. 

Tyler tried to ignore Pete's attempts at lighting a match. He kept his eyes focused out the window and on the shimmering lake. "What if you come hang out with us?" Tyler suggested, his eyes zeroing in on Josh as he played frisbee with a kid who's name Tyler didn't know.

Pete scoffed and brought the lit match up to the cigarette. "Never in a million years." 

"Come on," Tyler begged, turning his attention from Josh back to Pete. "I need you to see that he's not a bad guy. He's not the villain in this story of our summer."

Pete thought for a moment, his eyes zoning out on something outside the window. The sunlight reflected off of his eyes making them look golden instead of brown. "I'll think about it." Pete mumbles, taking a drag off of his cigarette. 

Tyler smiled and let the conversation end there. They both sat in silence, listening to the other camp kids running around outside while the smoke danced the cabin. Tyler repressed a cough.

*

Tyler sat on the door steps waiting for Josh to come back from wherever he had to be before they planned to meet. He was probably hanging around with Debby or Patrick somewhere. Tyler's mind began to wonder what they could possibly be doing.

Tyler didn't want to admit it, but he thought about what they do they do together a lot. Not in a creepy, stalker way, but more in the way that he wonders if they do crazy stuff together like jumping off of rope swings into the lake or wandering off camp grounds to explore what's beyond the gate. 

Tyler's daydreams of the groups adventures were interrupted when he heard Josh's voice coming from somewhere near by. Tyler watched Josh as he walked with his back facing Tyler and his front towards an anonymous person who Josh was saying his goodbyes to. When Josh turned around, Tyler got to his feet and waved to Josh, hoping he didn't seem too enthusiastic about seeing him. 

Josh waved back to Tyler and picks up his pace a little bit. Tyler tries not to watch Josh's arms as he makes his way towards Tyler. They were slightly flexed. Tyler looked back up at Josh's face, which was a foot and a half away from his. 

"Hey," Josh said, his voice breathy and tired. "Sorry I'm a little late I was caught up doing something."

Tyler shook his head even before Josh had finished his sentence. "No problem."

Josh smiled and walked up the steps and opened the door to their cabin, letting Tyler walk through first.

Tyler dropped himself into his bed and Josh placed himself besides Tyler, a notebook in hand. "Here," Josh says, running his fingers slowly over the blue fading notebook cover. "Holds my notes about sexuality and gender and all of that information."

"Notes?" tyler asks, his eyes glued to the cover of the notebook. "Why do you have notes?"

"Because I am really interested in this stuff. Whenever I see a new term or something relating to he de for sexuality that I don't know, I wrote down the word and the definition and study it." Josh states, his fingers pulling at the fraying edge of the book. "It's kind of lame and nerdy but I don't wanna be oblivious to this stuff."

Tyler smiles and holds out his hands. "Can I look through it?"

Josh nods and hands the notebook to Tyler. Tyler carefully opens the notebook and gently flips through the pages. There was at least 15 pages filled up with information about gender and sexuality that Tyler had never ever heard about before. 

"This is amazing." Tyler says, turning over pages and turning them back over to reread something. He didn't think the notes would end.

Josh scoots a little closer to Tyler and flips through the pages until he finds what he's looking for. Josh scans the page for a term. He points to the term right below demisexual: pansexual. Tyler remembers what Josh told him about it last night, but he reread a the definition Josh had written down: 'not limited in sexual choice with regard to biological sex, gender, or gender identity.'

"This is what I identify as of right now as far as sexuality goes. But I'm still questioning it."

"There's so many sexualities and genders I never knew about before."

Josh smirks. "School health classes really don't teach kids about stuff like this."

"They should. I feel like there are probably so many kids who don't feel right with the gender or the sexuality they identify as and they don't know anything about this stuff. This could really help some kids." Tyler's eyes hover over the term 'Bisexual'. He's heard of it before, but he never really gave it much thought.

"Also," Josh adds as he takes the notebook from Tyler's hands and shuts it. "The prefixes homo, hetero and bi can go in front of really any sexuality. So, If someone identifies as hetero-gray romantic or hetero-gray sexual, it means that they sometimes have feelings, romantic or sexual, for the opposite gender they were assigned at birth or their identified gender, but they rarely or almost rarely never have those feelings."

Tyler breathes in a deep breath and smiles to himself. "This is a lot of information. Is it normal to be a little confused when you first start learning about it?"

Josh giggles and nods. "Yeah, I think it is. It's a lot of information to take in. I didn't understand really any of it at first." Josh walks over to his dresser and places the blue notebook in the very bottom drawer of the bureau. He didn't even notice him take it from there. 

"I'm assuming Debby and Patrick don't know you have that." Tyler questions, watching Josh make his way back over to the bed. 

"Of course they don't know. And they won't ever know." 

Tyler nods, taking that as Josh saying 'Do not tell anyone I have that notebook or you'll mysteriously wake up on your mattress on the roof of a cabin' without actually coming it and saying it. 

"So, I know you said you identify as pansexual." Tyler begins. "But, like, can you have a preference?"

Josh smiles and shrugs a little bit. "I would think so. I know if a person identifies as bisexual than can have a preference so I wouldn't see why a pansexual person couldn't."

"How do you just so easily talk about this with me?" Tyler asks. "Like, I thought it was difficult for people to come out. Why do you seem to relaxed and not worried about me being an ass towards you?"

"Because I'm not ashamed of what I am." Josh simply states, pulling at Tyler's sheets. 

"Then why do you tell Debby and Patrick?"

Josh smiles and shakes his head. "That's a different story."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for such a long wait. I had a lot going on recently. but here is the next chapter.
> 
> if I have anything wrong in the chapter please let me know
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it and leaving feedback will make me happy ily


	7. Twin Size Mattress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’ll regret that.” Pete threatened through a half smile.

Tyler sat at the edge of the beach, his feet just barely dipped into the cool lake water. Somewhere in the distance behind him, maybe from inside one of the cabins, he could hear a familiar song being played through a radio. He couldn’t quite make out what song it was, but Tyler just knew that he had heard it at least once before. Tyler looked out over the very calm and quiet lake. He began thinking about all the events and occurrences in his life that had lead him to the moment of him sitting at the edge of a small lake in the middle of Ohio. 

The thought of just one thing that happened in Tyler’s life happening differently or not happening at all having the power to change the entire course of his life began to make Tyler rethink his whole life. If he hadn’t been best friends with James in the third grade, maybe he would have other friends that would have been bad influences on him. If that had happened, he probably wouldn’t be at Camp right now. He could be off somewhere getting high or doing other things that he now couldn’t dream of doing. 

If he had just been a little more outgoing when he was younger, his mother probably wouldn’t have shipped him off to summer camp so he wasn’t just sitting around, doing nothing but playing video games all summer. If he had spent his summers hanging out with friends or playing basketball, he wouldn’t have come here to camp, he wouldn’t have met Pete or Josh. He wouldn’t have discovered who he truly is. 

“Hey you,” A voice chirped behind Tyler. Tyler twisted his upper body to look behind him and see Josh taking big strides towards him. Tyler’s lips smile and he turns back towards the lake as Josh sits beside him. “What are you doing over here all by yourself?”

Tyler shrugged and dragged his finger through the dry sand below him and Josh. “I’m just thinking about how happy I am that I came here to camp. I’m happy I came here and I met Pete and that I met you.” Tyler looked up from his sand drawing to meet Josh’s gaze. 

Josh smiled and brushed one side of Tyler’s head. Then Josh pushed their lips together, and Tyler reciprocated the act while smiling against the other boy’s lips. 

*

Tyler slowly opens his eyes, allowing himself to adjust to the dim sunlight filtering into the room. As Tyler questioned what made his brain have a dream of him and Josh being together, he felt a sharp, burning pain in his left ear. ‘I must’ve fallen asleep with headphones in,’ he thought to himself as he gently shoved his face into the pillow, until he realizes it isn’t a pillow his head was resting on; it’s somebody’s abdomen. He quickly retracts his face from the stomach and looks up towards the face of the person he had fallen asleep on. A mess of purple hair covered gently shut eyes that were still trying to catch up on sleep. Everything came rushing back into Tyler’s brain about the previous night. 

Tyler had fallen asleep in Josh’s bed last night after they had been talking about gender identity and sexuality. When they were done talking about they, they began talking about music and Josh and him shared an ear bud set so Josh could show Tyler this new band he had been getting into when they discovered they liked a lot of the same bands. He must have passed out on Josh’s stomach in Josh’s bed. 

Tyler manages to slip his phone out of his pocket so he can check the time. 6:19 am. Tyler looks up to Josh to make sure he’s still asleep before he carefully slips out of the bed to get into his own bed, hoping to catch a few more z’s before the counselors come around to wake everyone up for breakfast. He also is hoping that Josh doesn’t even remember Tyler falling asleep next to him when he wakes up in a few hours. 

Before Tyler managed to escape, Josh stirs a bit and his eyelids pulls back, revealing his dark brown, sleep filled eyes. Half lidded, Josh and Tyler make eye contact. Tyler feels his face heat up instantly as a shy smile spreads across his lips. “Hey…” Tyler’s voice whispers weakly. “I was just gonna… go to my own bed.”

Josh didn’t answer Tyler. He just lazily opened his arms, beckoning for Tyler to go back to sleep in his arms. Tyler froze, trying to wrap his head around the situation at hand. Was Josh really asking Tyler to come cuddle with him? And why does Tyler feel like he actually wants to crawl into Josh’s arms and fall asleep in them? Tyler remembered that there were two other people asleep in the cabin. He didn’t want them to see them cuddling and have someone rat on them. Sleeping in the same bed as another camp goer and cuddling with them has to be against some sort of camp rules, right?

Inhaling sharply, Tyler crawled to the top of the bed and settled into Josh’s outstretched arms. The two bodies adjusted their positions in the narrow bedframe so the other would be comfortable. Their bodies seemed to fit together perfectly once they both got comfortable. The position they chose to stick with was Josh’s arms around Tyler’s waist, Tyler’s head against Josh’s strong chest with his hands on Josh’s upper stomach and Josh’s head gently resting on Tyler’s. Tyler took in Josh’s scent: cheap laundry detergent and lake water. It didn’t take long for Tyler to fall back into a restful sleep. 

*

Tyler awakes a while later to the sun shining right onto his eyes. He winces once and opens his eyes. He looks over to his right, to find the space that was occupied when he fell asleep is now vacant. The only thing in place was a small slip of paper with writing on it. Tyler lifted it off of the mattress and brought it closer to his face so he could read what was written on it.  
__  
Good morning,  
I didn’t want to wake you up. You looked too peaceful. I will tell Brendon that you weren’t feeling well.  
Josh  
  
Tyler’s lips turn upwards as he reads the scrawl across the piece of paper that was ripped from a notebook. ‘I’m not gay’ Tyler thinks to himself after a minute of staring at the scrap. Tyler crumples up the paper and jumps off of Josh’s bed when Pete comes barging through the cabin door. Tyler swears Pete almost ripped the old door off its wearing hinges. “What the fuck happened this morning!?”

“Uh… nothing happened. I just woke up.” Tyler speaks meekly, hoping that Pete doesn’t see right through Tyler’s lie. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” If Tyler has learned anything over the past week, it’s that Pete can probably see through anything. 

“Shut up,” Pete smiles and gently shoves Tyler. “You know what I am talking about. You and Josh. I heard that you were sleeping in his arms.”

“Shhh,” Tyler piped, rushing over to cover Pete’s mouth with his hand. “Shut up.” Pete wriggled underneath Tyler’s grasp and eventually getting Tyler’s hands off of his face. 

“Sheesh,” Pete spat, looking Tyler up and down. “What’s got your panties in a bunch, lover boy?”

“How did you find out about that?” Tyler worried.  
“Mikey told me.” One of the other cabin mates. Tyler refrained from hissing. “He asked me if I knew that you were gay.” Pete stated. Tyler rubbed his hands on his face as Pete proceeded to speak. “I kept telling him that you aren’t gay, but Mikey told me what he saw this morning before he went to breakfast. He told me he saw you and Josh cuddling while you both were asleep.”

“Pete, I’m not gay. You cannot tell anyone about that. And you have to tell Mikey to not tell anyone for me. Please?” Tyler begged. 

“I thought that was the plan? You were going to get with Josh and then if he continues to bully me, we are going to out him to everyone.”

Tyler’s mouth opened to rebuttal Pete, but that was the plan that they agreed to. “Well…” Pete raised his eyebrows, his arms folded across his chest staring at Tyler. Tyler rolled his eyes, and exhaled loudly. “Don’t you think that’s kind of a shitty thing to do to someone?”

Pete gave Tyler a half shrug and a half smile. “It is. But isn’t what they do to me kind of a shitty thing to do to someone.”

Tyler hesitated for a second and sighed defeated. “I’m not saying that him bullying you isn’t a shitty thing. But, outing someone who is in a situation where being gay could really hurt them is like, another level of shitty.” 

“This kid has been putting me through hell for the last two summers. Why should I give a fuck about his feelings?” 

“You know what it feels like to be where he is right now. You know what knowing that you’re gay but not being able to be publically gay yet feels like. How would you feel if someone told everyone that you were gay before you came out to everyone?”

Pete didn’t answer Tyler for a second. “Let me ask you a question, Joseph. If you’re really not gay, then why did you fall asleep in bed with Josh last night? Why were you cuddling with him this morning?” 

Tyler stared at the ground, his hands balling into fists. He didn’t have an answer to that question, and he couldn’t think of a viable excuse to get himself out of this interrogation. 

“I don’t know…” Tyler mumbled, his head turned down to the rotting wood underneath their feet.

“Why are you so adamantly against the idea of you being gay? Even a little bit gay?”

Tyler stood in the middle of the room, head still down, fists still tight by his side. He didn’t answer Pete.

“Is being gay a problem?” Pete took a step closer to Tyler. “That’s not a problem, is it, Tyler?”

Tyler bit down on his lip hard to refrain from saying something he’d regret. 

“Helloo.” Pete taunted, leaning in closer, his nose almost touching Tyler’s. “Are you going to answer— “

“I don’t want to be like you.” Tyler proclaimed, cutting Pete off midsentence. This was an instant regret on Tyler’s part.

Pete was, quite literally, taken aback by this statement from Tyler. “What…” Pete quavered after a moment of stunned silence. 

Tyler paused before he reworded what he said. “I don’t want to be that gay kid that doesn’t fit in, who has no friends.”

Pete scowled, his fists were not balled up by his sides. He didn’t say anything for a while. There was a thick and painful silence hanging in the air between the two boys, giving Tyler ample amount of time for him to rethink about why he would ever say that. 

“You’ll regret that.” Pete threatened through a half smile. Before Tyler could say another word, Pete was bursting back out the door he had just thrown up excitedly just a few minutes earlier. In that moment, Tyler wished he could go back in time more than he ever had before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such the long wait on this. I doubt any of the people who even read this when I was updating frequently will even see that i posted this. I just had a lot of life things going on that I didn't have enough time or energy to write. I am hoping that I can write and post more regularly now that everything has calmed down a bit.
> 
> The chapter title is a song by The Front Bottoms. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave a comment with some feedback.


	8. Gazing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He sees stars in Josh’s eyes, but he isn’t too sure if they’re just reflections of the ones above them or if they’re there during the day as well.

It’s been about a week since Tyler and Pete had their blow up in Tyler’s cabin. Tyler has seen Pete every day since then, and every time he sees him the desire to go to Pete to apologize grows stronger and stronger, but Tyler’s pride just won’t let him. Because, after all, he was only telling the truth. Tyler doesn’t want to be that kid known for being gay and he doesn’t want to be the outcast at the camp like Pete is. He wants to make friends that will last, even when they all go home at the end of the summer.

 Since Tyler has stopped speaking to Pete, he has been with Patrick, Debby and Josh a lot more; even when they’re not at the rock getting drunk way past curfew. They go to meals together, they sit around the campfire and just talk to each other, they pretty much do everything together. This was nice because it really kept him distracted from the idea of apologizing to Pete. Also, Tyler and Josh will sneak away some nights together to go be alone. Although they haven’t done anything non-platonic since they cuddle that morning, Tyler really does enjoy spending time with Josh, discovering new bands together, telling jokes, and finding himself.

The two of them have the sexuality and non-binary gender discussion at least once every time they see each other; half because Tyler actually does find this stuff interesting, and half because he has begun to question his own sexuality. Tyler hasn’t put a label on it yet, but he isn’t in any rush to do so. He’s confided in Josh that he is questioning, and Josh has been supportive of it. Tyler’s mind can’t stop wondering how Pete would be reacting to this information though. Tyler quickly erases those thoughts from his brain.

Tonight, Josh said he had a special night planned out for the two of them. Tyler tried to contain his excitement as he followed Josh through the overgrowing bushes and tree roots making their way through the woods. It was about midnight. Josh carried a duffle bag that seemed like the zipper was about to bust it was so filled, this only made Tyler more anxious for where they were going. Through the breaks in the tree branches above them, Tyler could see hundreds of small, glimmering stars in the dark, dark night.

Eventually, the forest fell away and there was only a large, grassy clearing with the forest acting as a border to the opening. Tyler grinned and craned his neck to look back up at the sky. The stars have multiplied into a billion. There was so many stars it actually made it impossible for Tyler to look away, like he had to count every single one of them.

“Hey, Tyler,” Josh calls, pulling Tyler’s attention away from the sky and back to Josh. Josh has made some distance ahead of Tyler. He waves his hand, beckoning Tyler to come closer to where Josh stands in the almost middle of the field. Tyler obeys and does a half jog towards his friend.

Josh gets to his knees and begins opening up the duffle bag. Josh pulls out a blanket and a six pack of beer. Tyler smiles wider and helps Josh spread out the blanket. Once the blanket is spread, Tyler flops down in the middle of the fabric and continues looking at the stars. Josh lays down next to Tyler on the blanket and looks up at the sky too.

“Isn’t it crazy,” Josh states, reaching behind the two of them and grabbing a beer, opening it and take a long swig from it and then passing Tyler his own who does the same thing. “How there are trillions of stars in the universe, but we only see a small portion of them?”

Tyler nods as he swallows the sip of alcohol he has in his mouth. Since that first night at the rock, Tyler’s alcohol drinking skills have increased substantially. “Also, half of these stars are probably dead. We’re seeing dead stars that have been dead for years and years.”

“It’s kind of like looking into the past, almost.” Josh states. Tyler nods and sighs as his mind starts wandering back to what happened last night between Pete and himself.

After a few minutes of silence and star gazing, Josh looks over to see Tyler totally spaced out and unaware of anything going on around him. Josh grins to himself, reaches behind him, grabbing a beer bottle and presses the cold glass to Tyler’s ear. Tyler lets out a shriek, which seems a lot louder to the pair in the quiet early morning hours of the deep woods in Ohio. Josh quickly covers Tyler’s mouth with his hand so no one will hear them, even though that is probably impossible because they’re so deep in the woods.

After a moment of just sitting in the silence again, the pair break out into laughter. Josh falls back onto his back and holds his stomach. Tyler closes his eyes and lets the last of his laugh escape. He looks over at Josh, who is also trying to stop the giggles from coming. Once Josh has fully calmed down, he goes back to looking at the stars. Tyler smiles. He sees stars in Josh’s eyes, but he isn’t too sure if they’re just reflections of the ones above them or if they’re there during the day as well.

Without really thinking, Tyler sits up, leans over and presses his lips to Josh’s. Tyler can sense that Josh is completely caught off guard by this since it takes him a second before he kisses back against the kiss. Tyler puts one of his hands to Josh’s cheek gently, slightly parting his lips. Josh puts both of his hands on Tyler’s waist, squeezing them ever so lightly as he slips his tongue into Tyler’s mouth. Tyler separates his lips a bit more, allowing Josh’s tongue access into his mouth, which it takes. Tyler isn’t exactly sure what he is to do next since he’s never kissed anyone before, so he just let’s Josh’s tongue explore the inside of his mouth.

It feels like forever until their lips part ways. Tyler looks into Josh’s eyes, which definitely contain their own set of millions of stars.

*

Tyler and Josh laid in the field for about three hours, just looking at the stars, talking, drinking, laughing and making out. It was a perfect night for Tyler and he was mildly disappointed when their cabin came into view through the thinning trees. Josh wrapped his arm around Tyler’s shoulders and gave them a tight squeeze. “Thank you for accompanying me tonight.” Josh says sweetly before kissing Tyler’s cheek.

Tyler smiles, wrapping his arms around Josh’s waist. “Thank you for inviting me and brining alcohol.”

Josh laughs, letting Tyler go and making their way to the cabin in silence. When they’re just outside of the cabin, Tyler grabs Josh’s wrist and kisses his lips one last time before they go inside and go to bed. Josh smiles against the kiss, pressing his against Tyler’s lips and pulls away.

Tyler opens the door, letting Josh sneak in quietly. Tyler sees a shadow move out of the corner of his eyes. Looking over towards the thick forest, Tyler sees nothing and nobody, so he doesn’t worry about it, follows Josh into the cabin and shuts the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the super fluffy short chapter. I thought I'd have something nice happen before shit went down. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! I always love feedback!


End file.
